Echo
by mizuharamisao
Summary: Kai, after his match with Takao during the 3rd World Campionship, joins the BEGA league. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize what he's leaving behind. And even more unfortunately, existence is more fragile than he or anyone else thinks it is. KaiXOC
1. Chapter 1

Title: Echo

Author's Notes: Hi... This is my first-ever fanfic! Whew! I'm a nervous wreck here... I hope you don't completely hate this... But don't get me wrong, all comments and critiques are welcome! But please, be just a wee bit gentle... Hehe.. Thanks!

Oh, and thoughts are in italics. :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. If I did, I wouldn't be here writing this fic.

Chapter 1: Kai

Three-time world champion. _Not bad_, Kai thought. _The little dweeb has gone far._

He was sitting in a field, alone, as usual. He took a blade of grass nearby and stuck it in his mouth. It had been a few weeks after his last battle with Takao. It was his best battle yet. It ended up leaving Takao the Beyblading Champion for the third time in a row, but that didn't matter much. A rematch was promised, and he was looking forward to another battle with his best friend and greatest rival.

But there had been a few unexpected developments. The BBA was abolished and a new association, BEGA, had taken its place. New rules in beyblading were established, and they were making it harder for a lot of people to compete. Kai knew his former teammates weren't going to stand for it. Actually, it wouldn't be so hard for them if they just submitted themselves to the new rules. But they wouldn't. Not in a million years would they join BEGA. Even Kai was a little surprised to see himself accepting BEGA. But beyblading had always been the most important thing to him, and he didn't care who ran it, as long as he got to battle.

The reason his friends were rebellious was that BEGA was run by Boris. That's why even Tala and the others were determined to bring BEGA down. They all knew Boris was planning something. Something very wrong. But what they failed to see was how powerful BEGA was. And how powerful its league of bladers was. He didn't fail to see that. He never failed to see anything. That was why he was on the league, on his way to more power and his next battle with Takao.

They were going to be upset, though. Oh yes they would. Takao, Rei, Max and the others – they were all going to be ballistic. But they would have to understand. His teammates had always been with him and supported and believed in him. But it wasn't just about the team anymore. It was about being the best. And he knew his best shot at being the best was to join BEGA.

He took the blade of grass from his mouth and let the wind blow it away. Something else was on his mind. He knew his friends were going to be disappointed with what he was going to do. Takao, in particular, might even get mad. But he knew that if anyone was going to be disturbed, it would have to be Misao. He could see it all: the day that it would be announced that Hiwatari Kai was joining the BEGA league, the audience applauding, the BEGA league smirking, his friends staring mouth agape, and Misao… Misao would be white in the face, biting her lip until it bled. Because she would be expecting it. She knew him better than anyone else, and she would be expecting such a move from him. But that wouldn't take away her worry. What it would take away, though, was the hours of sleep she needed and deserved at night. Her already puny appetite. The smile she always had on her face. Her beyblading spirit. She would suffer if he left. He knew that. But she would understand why he would do what he planned to. She would do that for him.

As he thought of the consequences his actions might bring, he almost didn't want to go through with it. He reached into his pocket and fingered Dranzer. No. He had made up his mind. He stood up and began to walk away. He would not hesitate. He would join the BEGA league, and that was final. After all, beyblading had always been the most important thing to him, and he didn't care who ran it. Nor did he care if his friends hated him. Because they were all good bladers. Like Takao, with whom he had a rematch pending. And like Misao, who was the most powerful blader he knew. He would battle them both someday. And he would win.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, here's the next chapter! Hope you don't completely hate this! (I need to build up my self-confidence. Sorry.) I kinda need help about the Japanese name things... I'm used to the English versions... sorry bout that, too...

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I would be a little more obnoxious than I am now.

Chapter 2: Misao

"I can't believe it! The little backstabbing jerk!"

Takao paused to shove a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. Barely even swallowing, he began talking again. "I know he wants to be the best! I know he wants to beybattle me again. But I never thought any of us – especially not Kai – would actually team up with Boris! After their history, it's just unethical!"

"Unethical! Wow, Takao! I didn't know you knew such complicated words!" Hiromi said cheerfully.

Takao shot her a dirty look. "I am so not in the mood for this, Hiromi."

"Calm down a bit, Takao," Kyouju spoke up, "We're all upset about Kai leaving the team, but we have to focus on the real problem – Boris."

"Professor's right," Rei said, "We can't keep worrying about Kai. All our friends are pitching in on this. We can do this, even without him. I know it stings, but we can't let BEGA keep ruling over Beyblading."

Takao frowned and studied his shoes. "Even if we could, I don't want to do this without him," he said quietly. He was silent for a while. Then he took off his hat, flung it to the floor, and said, "Argh! He is such a traitor!"

"Alright, that's enough, Takao," Max piped up. "Kai's not a traitor."

"None of you understand! How come you're not even upset? First, it was Kai. Then it's my own brother that left the team. Sure, I understand that Hitoshi's leaving the team wasn't too hard on you. But Kai was your teammate, too you know! Quit acting like I'm being ridiculous! I bet you guys don't even care that Kai's gone!"

A chair scraped across the floor. They all turned to see who it was, but she had already gone out the door and closed it with a slam.

Misao walked down the hallway calmly. She had always been calm. It was her nature, and always came so easily. But today, it seemed as if she needed to breathe ninety-five times a second to even be able to stand up straight. Nothing much was different, except that she felt cold outside, but burning up inside. She kept her hand to the wall for support as she walked.

It all began when Kai left. She had expected it to happen. She had bit her lip and had drawn blood when she did. It was no shock to her. How many times had Kai left his team in the past? She knew he loved beyblading more than anything. That had been fine with her, except… Except she missed the guy when he was gone. Except she worried that he was getting into more trouble than he ought to. She sighed. And there was something else different about this time. She could feel it like a dark cloud hovering above her. Something bad was going to happen, and she knew it had something to do with her. She also knew that Coach Hitoshi suspected it, too. She was positive that it was a minor reason why he left the team and joined BEGA. Hitoshi was good. He would probably find out what was wrong soon enough. She hoped so. Not knowing what was wrong worried her almost even more than Kai's departure did.

Misao stopped walking. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead. She found it hard to breathe. She swallowed, then sturdied her legs. She stood up as straight as she could manage, pushed some strands of blonde hair away from her face, then fumbled for her starter and her beyblade, Black Raven. She let the blade rip, and leaned on the wall to keep from falling. She tried hard to catch her breath, and when she thought she could continue, she stood up straight again. She commanded her blade to do all its usual moves and elevated its speed each time.

Swerve to the left, then to the right. Go up, duck, swerve again. Her blade went about aggressively, attacking and evading an invisible opponent. She kept at it until both she and her blade couldn't go on. She collapsed onto the hallway floor and her blade reeled until it finally stopped. Gasping hard for air, she managed a smile as Black Raven came to rest at her hand. She and her blade were known for their unbelievable teamwork. It was as if they were one creature. She didn't even have to verbally command her blade to attack or evade, she did everything mentally, even her most difficult moves. After a few minutes, she took her blade in her hand and stood up shakily.

"That was good," she said in between gasps for breath. "Thanks, Black Raven." The bit on the beyblade, which showed a black raven on a yellow background, glistened as if to say, "You're always welcome." She smiled.

She stared a while longer at the black-and-white beyblade and her smile faded. She shook her head gently and whispered, "There's something wrong with me," and sighed. She put Black Raven back into her pocket and turned around to go back to the team's room, with much more strength than when she left.


	3. Chapter 3

3rd Chapter! I've come this far! Hehehe.. If you'll notice, the Chapter titles are all the same.. Either it's "Kai" or "Misao". It's to show whose POV the chapter is about. I got it from a book I read once. Tnx!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. If I did, I'd be drawing instead of writing.

Chapter 3: Kai

"I guess it'll have to do."

Kai put his things on the bed in the room he had just been shown into. He looked around. The door closed behind him. "Don't push it, newbie," Garland, one of his new teammates, came in behind him.

Kai smirked and brushed off the remark. "So, Hitoshi has decided to join the BEGA league, too, huh?"

Garland nodded. "I bet your former teammates are crushed," he said sarcastically. "First, they lost you, then they lose their prized coach. Kinomiya, in particular, must be devastated."

Kai crossed his arms on his chest. "Maybe about Hitoshi, they are. But they won't be as disappointed to lose me as you think. After all, there is no Kai in team," he paused, then looked Garland in the eye and said, "There never was, and never will be."

Garland grinned and turned to leave. "No Kai in team?" He went out the door and closed it quietly. He held onto the doorknob for a while longer. "I bet there won't be Kai in this team either. At least," he added as he let go of the doorknob and started walking away, "not for long."

--------------

Kai sat on the edge of his bed and glanced up at the watch on the wall. It was a quarter to nine in the evening. If he hadn't left the team, and if he stayed with Takao and the others at Takao's place, by this time, Misao would be washing dishes. Everyone would have fought about who would do the dishes after dinner then they would have left her to do it alone. She wouldn't even be in the argument. She'd just sigh after everyone had left then start clearing up the table calmly. And he – Kai, he'd be leaning on the wall near the sink, waiting for her to finish. They would both pretend the other didn't exist. Except Misao would glance at him now and then and smile. When she finished, she would rummage through the cupboards to look for Daichi's or some other person's sweets stash and take 2 – yes, it was always two – pieces. She would eat one, then stick the other into Kai's face, bribing him not to tell anyone. He would ignore her and she would smile, assured that he couldn't care less if anyone found out. Then she would stick the other piece into Kai's hand then walk on ahead of him to her room. He would stare at the candy or chocolate or whatever it was for about half an hour, wondering what to do with it, until he would decide to put it along with the others in his room. He already had more sweets than from whoever Misao took them. He planned to give it back to whoever owned the stash, pretending it was a gift. Then it would start all over again.

Kai smiled at the memory. It was one of the many amusing ones he had of Misao. It still puzzled him how she became hilarious even though she was as silent as he was. It was also a mystery to him why she let everyone walk all over her. Washing dishes wasn't the only thing everyone left her no choice but to do. She had already swept the floors, fixed some beds, sown some pants. Sure, Hiromi cooked, but she liked cooking. He didn't think Misao or anyone else for that matter, enjoyed scrubbing the toilet floors.

Kai stood up and shook his head slightly. He should not have let those thoughts come to mind. He left the team and Misao for a reason. He couldn't let anything make him lose sight of that. He dug in his pocket and brought out the piece of candy Misao gave him the night before he left. He sighed and for the first time, ate Misao's bribe.


	4. Chapter 4

Ok... here's the next chapter:-)

Don't own beyblade though. :-(

Chapter 4: Misao

Misao stirred her chicken soup over and over. She played with the food in front of her, submerging every piece of chicken in the soup, then bringing it back up to the surface again. Hiromi made this soup. Hiromi made great soup. But tonight, Misao wasn't in the mood for it, or for any other dish for that matter.

Max, like the caring brother he had always been to her, noticed it. "What's wrong, sis?" he asked, feigning cheerfulness. "Food's great! Why not eat some?"

"Yeah, Misao, you should eat some!" echoed Daichi. "It's great! Hiromi isn't completely useless after all!"

Hiromi brought a ladle down Daichi's head. "Idiot!" she screamed. Then she turned to Misao. "Why aren't you eating any? Is the food that bad?" she said in a hurt voice.

Misao suddenly brightened up. "No, no, it's not that," she protested. "I'm just not really hungry, that's all." She smiled weakly.

Hiromi sighed. "You've been 'not really hungry' for days now."

"Yeah, sis," Max agreed. "Something's bothering you, I think."

Misao studied her soup as if looking for answers in the now-cooled yellow broth. "It's nothing important," she said softly.

Misao glanced at the people around her. There were so many. The PBB Allstars, the Barthez Battalion, White Tigers, F Dynasty – practically everyone from every team they'd ever battled was there, all helping out to reach one goal: to bring BEGA down and return meaning to beyblading. Everyone was there. Well, almost everyone.

Everyone around her was cheerful. They were laughing or joking, planning, or taunting each other good-naturedly as they ate. They all seemed to belong, to fit in so well. She felt like an outcast to them somehow. It was as if she was invisible to all of them. As if she didn't exist. She felt nauseous. With her right hand, she reached out for something to hold onto, and her fingers found Max's shoulder. Max, sensing something wrong, shook her gently, and she came back to her senses.

"Hey, Misao, you don't look so good," he said worriedly. Misao looked intently at her twin brother's face. He was the one who was thirty minutes younger, but right now, he was the one looking out for her. She forced her lips into a smile. She didn't want her baby brother to worry about her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said with an enthusiasm she didn't really feel.

Eventually, the others went back to their own rooms. The crowd thinned until it was only Misao, Hiromi, Max and Takao left. Takao kept going at the food, and Hiromi kept scolding him. Misao smiled at them. They looked so good together. Then she looked at Max, who was trying to stop the first two from fighting. He looked absorbed in what he was doing, but she knew he was watching her at the corner of his eye. She loved him for it. Maybe to other people she could be invisible at times. But to Max, she'll always be important. After all, twins do kind of have a special bond, don't they?

She glanced up at the clock. A quarter to nine. Out of habit, she began clearing the table absent-mindedly. She was ready to stand p when she felt a hand take hold of her wrist. She looked up and saw Hiromi smiling at her sympathetically. "I can do that tonight. You take a break," she said.

Misao put the plates in her hand down for a minute and thought. She _was _feeling kind of sick. Maybe it wouldn't be wrong if she took a night off from cleaning the dishes. She glanced up again and a familiar spot near the sink caught her eye. She stared at it for a long while as the memory of who used to occupy that space during that time of the night fixed itself onto her mind's eye. She shook her head and picked up the plates she had put down. She looked at Hiromi, then at Max and Takao, studying the confused expression on their faces. "No," she said as she stood up, "I'll do the dishes." She carried the plates in her hand to the sink, leaving the other three worried and wondering.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, this is the 5th chapter

Ok, this is the 5th chapter... I would like to dedicate this to my friends Autumn Blossom and windowlight, who never, not once, stopped believing in me... Tnx! Hehe.. Ok, enough with the sappy stuff, on with the story:-)

I do not own Beyblade.

Chapter 5: Misao

It was a fairly big building, the Kinomiya home was. Everyone only occupied the outside on this particular day, beybattling each other for practice. Misao was supposed to be battling Mariah today. But she wasn't in the mood. And anyway, she had a feeling nobody would even know she was gone. A bad feeling.

Instead of honing her amazing beyblading skills like she was supposed to do, she wandered all over the house. She left out their sleeping quarters; in her opinion, there was nothing else she hadn't seen in them. She explored all she could, but stayed away from the drawers and cabinets. Though she had this irresistible urge to go through everything in the house, she still wanted to respect Takao's and his grandfather's privacy. She kept to the things on display on top of tables, hanging on the walls, etc.

She found two paintings – one of a crane in the hallway leading to the kitchen and another near the front door. Most of the other rooms were pretty bare; the most interesting one being the dojo, though it was still pretty empty to begin with. There was the impressive statue of the dragon where Takao got his bitbeast, Dragoon, at the far side of the dojo, opposite the door. Other than that, the huge room contained nothing else.

Not more than an hour later, Misao began to feel guilty for bailing out on practice. She decided to turn back, but her feet had their own plans. They took her a few more paces forward, first into a hallway she had not yet gotten into, then into a windowless room that she was surprised to see in Kinomiya Takao's home.

She and her feet stopped at the doorway, and her eyes took everything in from where she stood. It was a small room, and just as empty as the other rooms, except that it had a table at one end, and a mirror on the wall at the other end, opposite the table. Misao walked slowly towards the table and saw that it held numerous frames, each one holding a photograph. She bent down to look at every frame intently, her hands behind her back. She was afraid to touch them; it was as if they would disintegrate if she did. The frames looked like they were used to not being touched. Their corners were filled with spider webs, and the photographs they held were barely visible through their curtains of dust. Misao blew on them a bit to get rid of as much dust as she could. She was successful with some of them. The pictures to the left were mostly of Takao and his family: Takao; Takao and his dad; Takao, his dad and his grandfather; and all the other combinations you can think of, some with the addition of people Misao guessed to be aunts, uncles, and other relatives. There was one solo picture of a beautiful woman who looked sort of familiar. Misao guessed it was probably Takao's mother; they had the same reddish-brown eyes.

At the far right of the table was a frame that was a lot less dusty than the others. The photograph it held was something very familiar to Misao. She had her own copy kept hidden in the pages of her diary, which she had long ago given up writing in because she kept forgetting to. All the other members of the previous BBA team had that picture, mainly because they were all in it. Takao, Max, Rei, Kai, Kyouju, Misao – they were all in that picture. She remembered vividly the day that picture was taken. Max was the one who suggested it. Everyone agreed, except of course, for Kai. She could see in the picture that smug, annoyed look on his face exactly like it had been on that long-ago day. But she could also see how amused – maybe even happy – he had been. She was pretty sure he wasn't really irritated then, judging by how easy she talked him into getting that picture taken and how bright his eyes were in the picture. And she was there, right beside him, the only way she had always wanted it to be.

She let out a sigh, then smiled a half-smile. Part of her was reliving that day, reveling in the happiness of it. The other part was here, right now, living out the sorrow the present held. She stood up straight and looked around at the small room, checking to see if there was anything else she had missed. Her eyes passed over the four walls, the door, the mirror. Nothing stirred in the mirror. She saw reflected in it the table and the photographs. Then she turned back to the photos.

Then suddenly, she felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand on end. She had just seen in the mirror the reflection of the table and the photos. But where was hers? She did not notice anything move in the mirror.

Slowly, she turned around to see if she was wrong. To her relief, she was. There she saw her reflection, a girl with long blonde hair and green eyes whose colors were barely visible in such dim light. Her face expressed her fear and then her relief, and even a little bit of her sorrow. She let her breath out and put a hand on her chest to feel her heartbeat. It was going very fast. She tried to calm down a bit and turned her attention to the photos. She scanned them again, the relief and amusement she felt escalating at the sight of each picture. But when she came to the picture of her friends, froze for a second, then gasped, threw the frame at the wall and ran out as fast as she could.


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, here's chapter 6

Ok, here's chapter 6... sorry I took so long... hehe.. I worked hard on this chapter.. here's where you find out why the title is "Echo". Tnx!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade... BUT, I DO OWN MIZUHARA MISAO. SHE IS MY OWN CHARACTER. I CREATED HER WHEN I WAS IN FOURTH GRADE. I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO DRAW HER BECAUSE MY HANDS ARE USELESS FOR THAT KINDA THING. BUT SHE'S BLONDE, AND SHE LOOKS KINDA LIKE MAX (CAUSE THEY'RE TWINS) AND... AND... sob

hehe... sorry bout that...

Here ya go...

Chapter 6: Kai

"What exactly are you planning to do?"

Kai watched Hitoshi swing his chair around to see where the voice came from. He almost laughed. Coach Hitoshi looked stupid when he was caught off guard. But unfortunately for Kai's satisfaction, Kinomiya Hitoshi quickly regained his composure and smiled.

"Kai," he said, "To what do I owe this honor?"

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Kai said again. He glared at Coach Hitoshi, who hesitated, then smiled again, resignedly.

"What do you think, Kai?" he asked, returning Kai's glare.

Kai remained silent. He had a good idea about why Takao's older brother joined the BEGA league. What he was thinking of was that it had something to do with testing just how good a blader Takao was. But then again, it might have had something to do with his own pride as a coach. He probably wanted to coach the best bladers there are. Whatever it was, it was one of the few things that interested Kai, and here he was, late at night, in the BEGA's research center where Coach Hitoshi was usually found.

After a few minutes of silence, Coach Hitoshi sat back down and sighed. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and rested his left foot on his right knee. "I think you already know why I'm here, Kai. You're a smart kid."

Kai remained indifferent. He knew Hitoshi would tell him the truth. Maybe he already has, he thought. But there was sure to be more.

Coach Hitoshi turned back to the computer he was working at. "I don't think you want to know why I'm here," he said matter-of-factly.

"Try me," Kai said.

Coach Hitoshi sighed again. "Alright, if you insist. But I swear you wouldn't expect this in your wildest dreams." He typed a few things into the computer then turned back around. He resumed his previous gesture and began to explain. "Have you ever noticed anything about that blonde friend of yours?"

Kai looked up. "Max?"

"No," Coach Hitoshi said, a smirk playing on his lips. "The girl. Misao."

Kai's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it. Hitoshi was right, he thought. I wouldn't even have thought I would hear her name from him. He looked at Hitoshi intently, as if to say, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Well, have you ever noticed anything about her?" Coach Hitoshi asked again.

"Anything like what?" Kai said. He sounded somewhat defensive.

"Like why she and her blade are so close. Like why she isn't a famous blader when we all know she might even be better that Takao. Why nobody even asks why she doesn't join the competition. Have you ever asked yourself why, Kai?"

No, Kai said to himself. And now that he thought about it, those things Coach Hitoshi said were true. It made him wonder a little why he never did ask about them. He shrugged off the thought and went back to focusing on his coach. "I hope this is going somewhere, Hitoshi."

Coach Hitoshi smiled. "It is. But I'm pretty sure you won't like where it's going."

"Just get on with it," Kai said irritatedly.

"Alright, no need to get all in a huff. Anyway, about Misao. There's something wrong about her, Kai. I couldn't quite put my finger on it when I first met her, and I guess I really didn't want to because she was such a nice person, but whatever it was, it kept bugging me until I had to know. And I just thought that I would get a better chance at finding out if I had the facilities of BEGA. And I was right. I did find out.

"The reason she and her blade are so close, like they're one creature, is that they are. Misao… She isn't human Kai. She's not."

Kai straightened up and began to leave. "I actually thought you were going to make sense, Hitoshi. I guess you've gone insane, too." He reached the door and he turned the knob.

"I knew you wouldn't like it," Coach Hitoshi said.

Something about the way he said it made Kai stop in his tracks. There was a note of sadness in Hitoshi's voice. Kai remembered that Hitoshi always did take a liking to Misao when he was still on the team. He treated her like his little sister. He couldn't have been saying those things about her if he wasn't serious about them.

He closed the door and turned back around. He went back to leaning on the wall. Hitoshi got the message and began talking again.

"I hate this as much as you do, Kai," he said.

"What is she if not human?" Kai said, ignoring Hitoshi's remark.

Hitoshi sighed. "She's a bitbeast's echo." He paused for another sigh. "When a bitbeast dies, it doesn't disappear right away. For a short period of time, it lives as a true spirit, stronger than when it was only active inside a beyblade. As an echo, a bitbeast can change the course of reality, Kai. And that's what a bitbeast did to ours. It inserted Misao into our lives in that period of time after its death and before its disappearance."

"That's crazy, Hitoshi," Kai said defensively. "I met Misao when we were both just children, even before my grandfather took me to Russia. You said a bitbeast's echo only exists for a short period of time."

"I told you, Kai. An echo can change reality. It probably just created all our memories of her and put it in our heads. We could probably just have met her yesterday, but our memories told us it was longer than that and she existed for that long."

Kai was silent for a while. "So, you're saying her bitbeast, Black Raven, is an echo and it just created her?"

"Pretty much."

"But why would it even do that?"

"I don't know Kai. I don't know."

Again, there was silence for a few minutes. Then Kai thought of something. "Where did you get all this, Hitoshi? Do you even have proof?" He was serious and almost nonchalant again, but inside, he was hoping there wasn't any evidence.

"Yes," Coach Hitoshi said, and he faced the computer again. He typed a few things on the huge keyboard and on the screen appeared a picture of Misao's blade, Black Raven, and a few things about it. "I found this in the BEGA's collection of articles that could be of use someday. It hasn't been viewed in a while. Anyway, it says here that there actually was once a blade named Black Raven, who was in the possession of a girl. I couldn't find anything about who the girl was, and I don't think anyone else knows anymore. All I really know about Black Raven now is that it died only a few years back, and… that it's time as an echo is almost up."

"Almost up?" That hit Kai hard. "That means Misao's time is almost up, too," he said quietly.

Coach Hitoshi nodded. "And unfortunately, when a bitbeast disappears completely, all that it has done and created as an echo also disappears. The only person who will remember the bit beast ever existed will be its most recent owner. That means we will all forget about Misao, and the only person who will probably remember she ever existed is that girl who used to own Black Raven."

Kai didn't reply. He kept looking at the floor, as if he wasn't even listening to anything Hitoshi said. But he was. And just when Hitoshi stopped talking, he realized he didn't want any of the information he had just heard. Again, he started to walk out of the room. This time, nothing stopped him from leaving.

"I'm sorry, Kai," Coach Hitoshi said right before the door closed.

Kai walked down the hallway slowly. He tried to make sense of what he had just heard. Then he stopped. He was doing it all wrong, he realized. Instead of trying to understand, he pushed it all to the back of his head. He continued walking. Suddenly, he had the urge to see Misao's face. His steps became quicker, then still quicker, until he was running to his room.

Once there, he grabbed his bag and emptied its contents on the bed to look for something that would help. He pushed away all the other things until he found what he was looking for – a picture of the original BBA team. He, Takao, Max, Rei, Kyouju, and Misao were all in it. But as he put it near a light to see his old teammates' faces better, he dropped the photo with a gasp. There – between him and Rei – was the spot where Misao was supposed to be. But instead of Misao, there was just the light blue of the background that Max chose on that day the picture was taken. She wasn't there. She wasn't in the picture. But she was supposed to be. She had been in that picture ever since that long-ago day. But now, her place was empty. Empty.

Kai shook his head absentmindedly. This can't be happening, he thought. He ran out of his room to look for answers. He wasn't sure where to find them.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry I took so long to update. I kinda have a hard time detailing beybattles. Hehe.. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! Here you go! Please keep reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. If I said I did, I wouldn't be able to prove it. Any proof would be nonexistent.

Chapter 7: Misao

10:00am. The sports news was on TV. The sport was Beyblading. And the news was about the BEGA League.

It showed the initiation of the aspiring members of BEGA. The applicants were divided into five groups, each to which belonged one professional member. Kai was one of the professionals. He was in the same group with a peculiar, orange-haired boy who the newscaster called Brooklyn. And their battle was being broadcasted for all the world to witness.

Misao, being part of "all the world", sat in the Kinomiya living room with the others, doing a pretty good job at witnessing what was occurring someplace else but was flowing through the atmosphere as ions and was being received by the television as Kai and Brooklyn's battle. She watched with apprehension how good the new kid was and how weak Kai seemed to be in comparison. Kai gave it his all – exposed secret weapons, used new attacks, even took off his scarf – all to no avail. The closure of the battle left Kai defeated and almost unconscious, blood flowing from various cuts on his face and arms. All this in one battle. And it was only 10:20.

Misao watched stricken with fear as Kai was dragged out by some of the BEGA staff. She hoped and waited to see a first-aid crew nearby, but she never got to. The lady newscaster came back on and announced the new and improved BEGA League: Crusher, Ming-ming, Mystel, Garland… and the new kid, Brooklyn.

No one in the Kinomiya living room spoke. Everyone had their mouths agape in shock. They were all frozen that way, fearing for Kai's situation and for what new developments might arise from this one.

_Kai,_ Misao thought, _what have they done to you?_


	8. Chapter 8

Whew! Long time since I last updated. Sorry.. Well, here's chapter 8.

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade. Never said I did.

Chapter 8: Misao

Misao went out and headed to the park a few minutes after twelve o'clock. Heat from the noontime sun seeped in through her clothes and she tied her hair up in a ponytail to keep from sweating too much. All that was on her mind, besides the heat, was: Kai, where are you? Kai, are you alright? Kai, are they taking care of you? Kai, I miss you. Kai, Kai, Kai…

She came to a bench and she sat on it. Birds were all around, pecking at invisible crumbs on the ground. Her gaze shifted onto the bench opposite her. On it was an orange-haired boy, supplying the invisible crumbs that the birds were pecking at. The birds eagerly came to him, apparently not only for food, but also because they knew him somehow. She had seen that boy only once before, and only a few hours ago. On television.

The boy's eyes met hers. They were blue and cold as they gazed into her green ones, but Misao held his gaze and his eyes softened a bit as a smile crept voluntarily over his face. He stood up and came over as the birds flew away one by one, probably to look for more food elsewhere.

"Hi," he said. "First time I've seen you here."

Misao forced a smile onto her face. She convinced herself that it wasn't his fault that Kai lost. "I don't come here often," she said.

The boy nodded and the sun glistened on his hair, making it look more like fire. "I'm Brooklyn," he said, holding out his hand.

Misao hesitatingly took it. "Misao," she said. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine," replied Brooklyn. He sat down beside her. They stayed that way for a long while, watching birds fly by, as if to come say hello to the fiery-haired boy.

At some point, one of the smaller birds came by and landed on his arm. He took it gently and handed it to Misao, who was pleasantly surprised. She smiled genuinely, took the small feathered ball into her hands and rested it on her lap as the bird contentedly let her stroke its head with her thumb.

"Do you like birds?" Brooklyn asked her. She nodded in reply, then smiled.

"What's your favorite?" he asked.

Misao was silent for a while, stroking the bird's head happily as she thought. Then, as if she really wasn't thinking at all, she said, "I love ravens best."

"Ravens?" Brooklyn whispered to himself. He looked thoughtful for a second, watching Misao's fingers gently go back and forth on the bird's back. Then he smiled, as if he had just figured something out and was sure of it.

"So," he said in a low, cold voice, "what's it like?"

Misao looked up, a confused, happy expression on her face.

"What's it like to not exist?" Brooklyn continued.

Misao stood up so abruptly that it took the small bird off guard and it almost fell. Luckily, it regained its balance and was able to fly away without getting hurt. Misao just stood there, staring at this boy whom she barely knew and yet seemed to know all about her secret. He stared right back at her, a menacing, knowing look on his face, as if he was a cat who had just cornered a mouse. Eventually, he stood up and Misao moved back a step and ran as fast as she could.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Kai

Kai stared at the dark concrete pavement in front of him as he had been doing for the past few hours after his defeat. He thought of how pathetic he must be, sitting there in the middle of the darkness of some deserted alleyway with no one but a yellow-and-grey stray cat for company. As he did, he realized with a small nugget of surprise that his brain was working again. He stroked the cat, making whatever weak, sunsettish rays of light reaching them seem to glide over each of the cat's whiskers.

He suddenly felt like there was something he ought to be doing. Something in how the cat seemed gold and black in the feeble light gave him a hint. It hit him like a knife at his chest and he stood up abruptly, thought of where he should go and proceeded to run in its direction as fast as his numb legs would carry him.

At the BBA headquarters, he asked everyone he saw, "Where's Misao?" and all of them replied with confused, surprised looks. He managed to avoid Tyson and the others without realizing he was doing it, until he saw Max, who was shocked to see him stepping on BBA ground.

"Kai!" Max exclaimed. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Misao," Kai said, straight to the point, "Where is she?"

"She went out a while ago. Didn't say where, just went. But I have a feeling she might've gone to the park –"

Not even waiting for Max to finish, Kai turned and began making his way out of the building. "Kai, wait!" Max called, trying to catch up with him. "Is anything wrong? Is my sister alright?"

Kai stopped then and turned around. He looked at Max, his old friend; Max, Misao's twin brother. Should he tell him all he knew? Did he already know? Would her own brother forget all about her, too, when she – No, he wouldn't think about it. He shook his head slowly and said, keeping his sad eyes fixed on Max, "I don't know." He turned back around and ran for the park.

Once there, he went every which way he could think of in search of Misao. Past fountains, along food store stalls, on benches – he went through all of these and still he couldn't find her. He was beginning to think that Max might have been wrong, until soft sobbing reached his ears, coming from within a dense grove of young but tall birches. He pushed past the foliage and brambles until he found a small space in which two or three people could crouch in. There, he found the girl he was looking for, her head buried in her arms, her arms hugging her knees.

"Misao?" he said gently. At the sound of her name, Misao looked up, and realizing who it was, stood up immediately and clung to him, crying into his shoulder. They stood there, holding on to each other, until Misao's sobs subsided and she was finally able to let go of him and smile one of her spring morning smiles. "I'm ok now," she said softly. They decided to sit down a while in the shelter of the birches. There seemed to be no other place better to talk in. And they had some catching up to do.

Kai wanted so much to ask her about what Hiro had said – was it true? Should he believe it? If she said no, if she offered any hope at all that it was all a lie, he would drop all his doubts and everything would be alright again. But he found he couldn't for fear that the answer would be the opposite of what he hoped. Inwardly, he shivered at the thought of actually being afraid.

After what must have been a long silence, Misao spoke up, softly, as before. "I saw you on TV," she said. She turned to him and smiled. He didn't meet her gaze. So she saw all the excruciating details of how he was humiliated. Great, he thought sarcastically. But she seemed to be more concerned about a rather large, dry wound on his left cheek. She stroked it gently and when he glanced at her, she seemed about to cry again. She bit down on her lip, then smiled at him again like he had given her the best present she had ever received.

He took her hand in his and they sat there in the silence, staring at the nothingness that the shade of the trees and the receding sunlight created. After some time, Misao spoke up again. "Are you going to fight him again?" she all but whispered. When he didn't answer, she said, "You should," jokingly, though somehow also weakly, he noticed with concern. "You should because his hair is too red. And he's weird." She smiled.

In spite of himself, Kai laughed. "Aren't you worried about me?" he asked half teasingly, half nonchalantly.

"Of course," Misao replied faintly but surely.

"Then how do you believe in me so much even after I failed and encourage me to fight even when you're worried about me?"

"It's what I was created to do," She said seriously. He looked at her and realized that she really was. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Then I'll do it," he said decidedly. "I'll fight." He knew he could do it. He knew he could find a way to win. She believed in him.

She nodded. "Just be careful," she said, and smiled.


End file.
